14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro: Buy now or wait?
Even though the MacBook Air is immensely well-known, some users require a minimal bit far more. Much more efficiency, a more substantial battery, a lot more ports, a more substantial screen…if you have to have extra, you need a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Professional.
In advance of you commit all that funds on one thing you hope to maintain and use for decades, it’s really worth inquiring if this is a superior time to purchase. In the world of personal computers, there’s always a thing superior on the way, but if it’s a lot superior and it is coming quickly, you may well want to hold out.
It’s been about a yr given that the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro was first produced and an update may well be coming quickly. Here’s our purchasing suggestions for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional: Pricing and specs
Produced: October 2021
The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional gained a huge Apple silicon update at Apple’s “Unleashed” celebration. It commences with a new processor (the M1 Pro or M1 Max), but it is additional than just pace. It has a new show (Liquid Retina XDR), more ports (a few Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SDXC slot), a comprehensive-sized row of perform keys, and a new style. It replaces the Intel model that was unveiled in 2019.
14-inch MacBook Professional (2021)
MSRP:
$1,999 (8-Core CPU, 14-Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $2,499 (10-Main CPU, 16-Core GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
Study our complete
14-inch MacBook Pro (2021)review
16-inch MacBook Professional (2021)
MSRP:
$2,499 (M1 Pro 10-Core CPU, 16-Main GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) $2,699 (M1 Professional 10-Main CPU, 16-Main GPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) $3,499 (M1 Max 10-Main CPU, 32-Core GPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
The 14-inch MacBook Pro commences at $1,999. The 16-inch MacBook Professional commences at $2,499. There are processor, RAM, and storage choices that can press it more than $6,000.
14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: Why you need to acquire
The MacBook Pro is a great equipment that checks off nearly every single box on a pro user’s wishlist. It is rapid, able, and highly effective, and brings Apple’s professional laptop computer into the forefront of the pack. The show is motive plenty of to want one particular, bringing mini-LED and Promotion to a Mac for the to start with time, with extraordinary brightness (1,600-nit peak) and excellent coloration precision. Apple promises the M1 Professional chip is 70 % speedier than the M1, and the M1 Max has a GPU 4 times extra impressive than that in the M1. It also has a lot more RAM, various occasions more memory bandwidth, and a outrageous-rapid SSD.
There are also a lot more ports. Apple extra 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as HDMI and an SDXC card slot. There’s an upgraded 1080p FaceTime digicam as properly, even though you’ll require to offer with a display notch like on the Apple iphone. But we assume that is an satisfactory trade-off for so a lot electric power.
14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: Why you really should get
A new MacBook Pro is a major investment decision, but if you want the power it offers right now, get just one. Each and every new Mac is constantly the best Apple has ever created, but the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro is a gigantic leap both of those around the prior model and in the historical past of the MacBook Pro, and we imagine you’ll be extremely pleased with your buy.
We do endorse that you get as significantly storage and memory as you can pay for. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro starts off at 16GB of RAM and goes up to 32GB with the M1 Pro, and 64GB with the M1 Max chips. The upgrades are not affordable, but they’ll be effectively well worth the financial commitment years from now when your machine is even now functioning as easily as it was when you bought it.
If you do determine to make the expenditure appropriate now, do not get it instantly from Apple. Third-social gathering merchants this kind of as Amazon and Finest Invest in are providing the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with steep savings, as much as $400 off the normal price tag. (The Apple shop does not market clearance objects or present sale price ranges on present inventory.) The capture with shopping at one particular of these gross sales is that customization solutions are minimal, so for case in point, you have to settle for no matter what RAM and SSD configuration is currently being supplied. But if you’re wonderful with that, you’ll save a great deal of cash.
Why are third-celebration shops presenting these types of major special discounts? That leads us to…
Macworld suggests: Hold out
Quite a few reviews have stated that Apple could update the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional in the next number of months. The revenue at third-celebration merchants are very likely due to Apple wanting to crystal clear stock to make space for the new model.
This forthcoming update will be a processor enhance to the M2 Pro and Max, the adhere to-up to the M1 Pro and Max. The effectiveness will boost, but likely not as radically as the swap from Intel chips to the M1 collection.
Due to the fact the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro’s design is just a year outdated, Apple won’t modify it. It need to have the exact same screen, ports, keyboard, and trackpad. It is all about the processor and GPU for this up grade.
So if you definitely want the most up-to-date engineering and are prepared to pay entire rate, keep off on buying a new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional.